Modern economies rely on technology to drive innovation and shape the future. With the tech industry always at the forefront of critical problem-solving, it is surprising that the lack of women in tech remains an issue. According to the Women in Tech Survey 2023, women make up only 26% of people who work in IT. The gender balance in the industry has certainly seen some improvement since 2019, when women made up only 19% of tech employees, but it is clear there is still a long way to go.

What prevents women from finding roles in tech?

There are multiple obstacles for women looking for their next role in the tech world. Some common grievances are the biases women face in male-dominated fields, a toxic “bro culture” that sometimes plagues the tech industry, the lack of inspirational role models and mentors, as well as a gender pay gap.

First of all, there are still some lingering biases when it comes to tech, such as it traditionally being a male-dominated field. It begins as early as childhood when boys are encouraged to pursue sciences and maths, while girls can be pushed into other fields, often humanities. Studies find that there are few gender differences when it comes to studying maths at school, so why is there a gender gap when it comes to studying sciences later in life? Arguably, this problem, at least partially, boils down to the need to conform – as children grow up, they become more aware of the stereotypes associated with femininity and masculinity, and learn to lean into them more.

The importance of role models and mentors in any given industry cannot be overstated. Finding a person in your field who you can look up to can inspire and assure you that your own path is possible. However, with only 26% of women working in tech fields, it can be challenging to find a female role model. It also means there is less advocacy and support for young women in tech by older female experts.

The pay gap is another obstacle for women trying to make a career in tech. Pay discrepancy is a universal problem for most industries, and the STEM field is, unfortunately, one of them. Researchers find that women in tech earn up to 28% less than their male colleagues, and only 8% of tech businesses were found not to have a gender-based pay discrepancy at all. Moreover, there can be limits to a woman’s career progression in tech, fuelled by gender stereotypes and biases.

So, why do we believe that lack of women in the tech industry is a problem? Similarly to underrepresentation in other fields, employing a uniform workforce can lead to some complex issues. Innovation thrives in environments where varied experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints are shared and discussed. In other words, a lack of diversity often impedes innovation. Diverse teams are also better suited to creating products that are more inclusive of a broader audience.

Additionally, with AI taking the world by storm, it’s already been noticed that a lack of diversity among developers is leading to the creation of biased algorithms that are failing when it comes to recognising non-white or non-male faces. Unsurprisingly, only 22% in the employees of AI-related fields are women, highlighting the need for more diversity in tech.

At Yubo, we’re dedicated to closing the gender gap in tech. Right now, 33% of our team are women, with 53% of those in leadership roles, including our Head of Finance, Head of Legal, Head of People and Head of Safety. But we know there’s always room to grow - and that’s why we were happy to host the OutGeekWomen in Tech event at our headquarters in Paris!

Partnering with OutGeekWomen in Tech, we hosted a dynamic evening of networking for women in dev, product, data, and UI/UX on October 24th, 2024! Our aim was to create an innovative, inclusive, and empowering space led by talented women from across Paris. With over 70 women in attendance, it was a night filled with dynamic conversations, knowledge-sharing, and career insights. We were thrilled to showcase Yubo – our work, our team, and our office – and having a few leading tech companies join us made it even better!

At the event, Margaux Liquard, our Head of Safety, represented Yubo and opened the event with an inspiring keynote. She shared her journey, touching on the personal challenges of balancing motherhood with career growth and reflecting on her professional development at Yubo, where she and her team are building a safe, global platform for our community. Margaux also spoke about the support structures that make workplaces more welcoming for women, such as flexible and remote work options that enable a fulfilling work-life balance – even in fast-paced fields like tech. Her talk was a powerful reminder of the steps a company can take to support women in tech.

Yubo Event - Outgeek: Women in Tech

With this event under our belt, we’re even more excited about future opportunities to actively promote equality and support women in tech – at Yubo and beyond. Events like these are about more than networking – they’re a chance to uplift each other, build connections, and push for meaningful change in the industry. As Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, said, “Tech is for anyone who wants to shape the future.” If shaping the future speaks to you, Yubo invites you to join us in making tech more inclusive and amplifying female voices across the field. Together, let’s create a more diverse and empowering industry for everyone.

In the meantime, feel free to check out our blog posts on supporting women-led businesses and how Yubo contributes to raising awareness about breast cancer.

Hosting A Women in Tech Event at Yubo: A Collaboration With OutGeekWomen

Introducing SafeBlur: A Safety Tool That Lets You Do You!

Safety? Check! Empowering users? Check! SafeBlur is about both Internet safety and user choice, and those values are at the forefront of our work here at Yubo. We’ve all heard of the importance of online safety, but the concept of user agency is gaining more and more traction today. Allowing freedom without encouraging misuse helps users to feel in control of their online environment, so this should not be overlooked when creating safety tools. Navigating the balance between user safety and user choice can sometimes be complex, but here at Yubo we’re dedicated to innovation that does just that. This is why we have been working on a new safety feature called SafeBlur. The goal of this feature is to mitigate potential triggers and discomfort you could encounter when chatting, while giving you an option to see as much — or as little — as you'd like. It is also designed to prevent instances of sexual harassment – an issue Yubo takes very seriously.

Of course, blocking and muting have long been staple safety measures across the social media world, but we felt that a new approach was necessary to proactively prevent our users from seeing inappropriate content. We developed SafeBlur in 2024 in response to in-depth polling conducted on Yubo that highlighted the need for a direct message (DM) content moderation tool. This request was common across different age and gender user groups, and articulated an opportunity to make one-on-one conversations safer.

Sacha Lazimi, Yubo co-founder and CEO commented on the project: “SafeBlur was created in response to insights we gathered through rigorous data analysis and user feedback, reflecting our proactive approach to solving key challenges in trust and safety for social platforms. We’re proud to offer a solution that protects users and maintains the privacy they expect.”

This feature is our latest contribution to a better, safer Internet. Previously, we gave our users the option to exclude specific words through our Muted Words feature. SafeBlur builds on this, making avoiding toxicity online even easier. You don’t have to spend your time choosing words you would like to avoid – SafeBlur does it for you by blurring inappropriate or offensive messages without you having to do any the work.

Yubo Safety - SafeBlur feature

SafeBlur is designed to keep your online interactions safe and upset-free. It scans your direct messages – which are higher-risk content compared to livestreams or live chat – and blurs out any inappropriate or offensive messages. This way you can feel protected when chatting one-on-one, and the private messages you receive are subjected to the same scrutiny as all other kinds of online content. However, to give you a bigger say in the kind of content you see, you will be able to turn the feature off as well as decide to unblur any messages you’re interested in reading even when SafeBlur is on. SafeBlur will also prompt you to report any inappropriate messages, which helps promote safety and accountability.

SafeBlur is an AI-powered tool, allowing us to scan a large volume of text messages daily. The offending content can be escalated to our human moderation team, but the bulk of it will be screened out by AI, making sure you can successfully avoid any inappropriate or toxic messages. SafeBlur works in many languages, helping protect our users in the 140 countries where Yubo is active.

Using SafeBlur is really simple – whenever you receive a questionable direct message for the first time, we will blur it and send you a pop-up alert, asking if you want to keep the feature enabled. If opted out, SafeBlur will be turned off and won’t affect your experience on the app in any way, unless you decide to turn it back on again. With SafeBlur enabled, you will still be able to see the blurred text if you tap on it, and you will also get the chance to report it immediately to our human moderation team if you’d like. What if you decided against enabling SafeBlur, but changed your mind after a while? This can be easily fixed. Simply go to your profile and tap on Settings, then Safety and Privacy, and finally, toggle on SafeBlur. Alternatively, if you have enabled it initially, but want it disabled later, you can always do so by following the same steps.

We’re planning to use the feedback we receive to fine tune SafeBlur to ensure user satisfaction. Dedicated to user safety, Yubo will be taking further steps to remain a vocal innovator in the field of online safety technology.

Lastly, if you were ever harassed online, check this helpful guide on dealing with harassment and bullying. It’s in our power to make the Internet a better place, and here at Yubo, we will continue to advocate for user safety and empowerment through technology.

So whether you choose to protect yourself as much as possible or to keep those convos unfiltered, we’re here to give you the experience you choose! You can check out the SafeBlur feature now by going on Yubo and enabling it in the Settings. Have fun!

The Gen Z social network app expands its sustainable freemium business model protecting user data

Yubo, the leading platform for young people to socialise online, today announces the launch of YuBucks, a virtual online currency. This new paid feature is part of the development of the social network's unique business model that monetises through sustainable social commerce rather than selling its users' data.

Tips and Tricks On How To Make the Most Out of Yubo Lives

In mid-July, Yubo will also be launching another new paid-for feature: Pixels. Yubo has collaborated with the Pixel artist Banfan to create collectible digital art representing qualities, moods, and personalities. Yubo users will be able to purchase these in-app and can start their own collection, send it to their friends and send it to people they admire on the app, for example, their favorite streamers.

Yubo - Introducing Pixels

Founded in 2015, Yubo’s mission is to enable Gen Z to make genuine friendships online and is completely influencer free and like-free. By moving away from the traditional social network business model, Yubo’s users are able to more easily connect with each other without the pressure of likes. 

Sacha Lazimi, Co-founder and CEO of Yubo, said “The launch of YuBucks and upcoming launch of Pixels, is another step forward in strengthening our unique business model that montezises through social commerce as well as enhances the in-app experience for our users. 

Our freemium business models allow us to keep our users' data safe and protected, which is a top priority for us and our users. We are carving a new path in social media - at Yubo, we believe you shouldn't have to sell your personal data in order to enjoy and experience a platform.”

Yubo Launches New Features: Add Friends by Tag

The addition of YuBucks creates a more seamless experience for users as they can purchase any paid-for feature in-app without having to repeat the payment process. As a result, users waste less time on microtransactions and can fully enjoy their experience on Yubo.

Yubucks will also facilitate the prize or reward system at events organised in the application. Users will be able to win prizes in YuBucks and be free to choose which paid feature they prefer and wish to obtain.

Yubo, the leading platform for young people to socialise online, announces the launch of YuBucks, a virtual online currency. Yubo also launched another new paid-for feature: Pixels, collectible digital art representing qualities, moods, and personalities.

Yubo Launches YuBucks and Pixels

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- Written by Yubo Team

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.css-xtmmy3{display:none;}@media screen and (min-width: 30em){.css-xtmmy3{display:initial;}}- Written by Yubo Team

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